J
Good but with problems
I bought this device in order to improve articulation, presence and the "funkiness" of my basses. I only play at home and plug the bass directly into the interface and at times the sound is muffled or not clearly defined, and I've tried many basses, various pedals like expanders or compressors, and none of them really did the trick. So after hours and hours of research and watching videos and reviews etc I decided to experiment with this one.
There are two separate stages in this device: the pream and the cab sim. I've got one serious gripe with each of them, and then a third one that is about the device as a whole:
1. About the preamp, the mix knob ("dry"<->"wet"), when turned fully left, i.e. in the completely "dry" position should only reproduce the sound of the bass without any alteration. But this isn't so - you can clearly hear that the sound is affected by the circuitry: the accentuated mid-highs can be heard and different dynamics can be felt. So it's like if you plug the bass into the device you can't have totally clean sound. A big bummer for me. Thankfully I managed to improve the situation by this trick: I used the effects loop to invert the mixing potentiometer: I used a couple of patch cables to send the "send" of the parallel to the "receive" of the preamp and the "send" of the preamp to the "receive" of the parallel. This changed things for the better and although the preamp knobs need to be turned much higher to get the same volume of the preamped sound, it cleared-out the parallel signal and it's now much closer to the unaffected sound.
2. The cab sim is very impressive in its realism but the choices of cab and speaker sizes is limiting. I would like there to be something with tighter sound, like 2x12 or 1x12. All offerings leave this "big sound" kind of feeling that is not always good or wanted. I haven't solved this - I just don't use the cab sim very much.
3. If you have a sound with a mix of preamp and parallel sound there is no single knob that can adjust the volume of the mix. If you adjust the existing volume knob, it only increases the preamp side of the sound, not the overall mix, so if you want to do this you must increase the volume with the knob, and then alter the balance on the mix knob. Fiddly and doesn't guarantee that you'll have the exact same tone as before. So, in order to do this with a single knob and keep the exact same tone every time, you need a separate booster/volume adjuster pedal, especially if you use a passive bass and don't want to mess with its volume knob, which affects the tone.
As a final conclusion, after the trick with crossing/inverting the "sends" & "receives" on the effects loops, the device does what I want it to do and fulfilles its mission, as the sound is good - crunchy, articulate and "live". So the question is: is it worth the price. In all honesty, if you don't really need the cab sim, no. It's crazy expensive at 299. So, normally I would return it but I decided to keep it because it eventually does what I want it to do (albeit with the trickery described above) and I have grown tired of buying pedals in order to reach a particular type & quality of sound.
There are two separate stages in this device: the pream and the cab sim. I've got one serious gripe with each of them, and then a third one that is about the device as a whole:
1. About the preamp, the mix knob ("dry"<->"wet"), when turned fully left, i.e. in the completely "dry" position should only reproduce the sound of the bass without any alteration. But this isn't so - you can clearly hear that the sound is affected by the circuitry: the accentuated mid-highs can be heard and different dynamics can be felt. So it's like if you plug the bass into the device you can't have totally clean sound. A big bummer for me. Thankfully I managed to improve the situation by this trick: I used the effects loop to invert the mixing potentiometer: I used a couple of patch cables to send the "send" of the parallel to the "receive" of the preamp and the "send" of the preamp to the "receive" of the parallel. This changed things for the better and although the preamp knobs need to be turned much higher to get the same volume of the preamped sound, it cleared-out the parallel signal and it's now much closer to the unaffected sound.
2. The cab sim is very impressive in its realism but the choices of cab and speaker sizes is limiting. I would like there to be something with tighter sound, like 2x12 or 1x12. All offerings leave this "big sound" kind of feeling that is not always good or wanted. I haven't solved this - I just don't use the cab sim very much.
3. If you have a sound with a mix of preamp and parallel sound there is no single knob that can adjust the volume of the mix. If you adjust the existing volume knob, it only increases the preamp side of the sound, not the overall mix, so if you want to do this you must increase the volume with the knob, and then alter the balance on the mix knob. Fiddly and doesn't guarantee that you'll have the exact same tone as before. So, in order to do this with a single knob and keep the exact same tone every time, you need a separate booster/volume adjuster pedal, especially if you use a passive bass and don't want to mess with its volume knob, which affects the tone.
As a final conclusion, after the trick with crossing/inverting the "sends" & "receives" on the effects loops, the device does what I want it to do and fulfilles its mission, as the sound is good - crunchy, articulate and "live". So the question is: is it worth the price. In all honesty, if you don't really need the cab sim, no. It's crazy expensive at 299. So, normally I would return it but I decided to keep it because it eventually does what I want it to do (albeit with the trickery described above) and I have grown tired of buying pedals in order to reach a particular type & quality of sound.
9
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OR
Neutral amp/cab
This is a very versatile tool for shaping and tayloring your desired bass-sound, with options and solutions to a wide variety of setups. Fantastic multifunctional tool for bass. I have used it with gitar once in a live-situation. Sounded deep and wonderful! It is supposed to be an Ampeg SVT amp, if i remember correctly....
I also bought the tech 21 VT bass, also an Ampeg SVT simulation, and its a much more aggressive and «fun» tool. I ultimately ended up using the tech 21 all the time, because its easy to use, and sounds insanely cool.
If you like versatility, go for DSM. If you like rock and metal, definitely go for tech 21(tech 21 runs on phantom-power...... its just super easy every time)
I also bought the tech 21 VT bass, also an Ampeg SVT simulation, and its a much more aggressive and «fun» tool. I ultimately ended up using the tech 21 all the time, because its easy to use, and sounds insanely cool.
If you like versatility, go for DSM. If you like rock and metal, definitely go for tech 21(tech 21 runs on phantom-power...... its just super easy every time)
6
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B
The improvement on passive basses is amazing!
DSM Noisemaker and Humboldt Electronics have created something quite unlike anything on the market. Due to its size and the amount of functionality built in, it is a game changer. It sounds great.
You can use a compressor on the parallel fx loop so the low end gets compressed, but the preamp signal keeps its dynamics.
Is it difficult to use? Well, yes... and no. It becomes more intuitive as you use it.
You can use a compressor on the parallel fx loop so the low end gets compressed, but the preamp signal keeps its dynamics.
Is it difficult to use? Well, yes... and no. It becomes more intuitive as you use it.
2
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T
The sound of this sim is great! The size of the switches and knobs can be...
Great amp sim. I use it in the studio and live (direct into the PA). Haven't had any issues yet! The closeness of the knobs and the size of certain pins/switches can sometimes be a bit iffy for my chubby fingers, but over all I love it :)
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b
Excellent DI
This is the second purchase I've made of this product. I loved it the first time, but started getting electrical interference while using it. It ended up being a problem of the AC adaptor. I've since bought the Truetone 1 Spot 9V/DC and repurchased the Bass Station, and I'm very happy with the results.
The low pass filter and cab sim are amazing on this device. I'm still learning how to tweak the preamp section; for the moment, I haven't really gotten the hang out of it.
The low pass filter and cab sim are amazing on this device. I'm still learning how to tweak the preamp section; for the moment, I haven't really gotten the hang out of it.
0
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j
Fully functional and flexible
This little box has a lot going for it - brilliant sounding SVT simulator, cab sim, all the blends you could need and two seperate effects loops. Sounds fantastic and very versatile, you can get clean and dirty sounds out of this thing and it covers pretty much every style.
My only niggle is that there is no footswitch to bypass it, so it is a bit tricky to use it on a pedal board with other preamps. But it is so flexible I don't have much need for that at the moment. Perfect studio tool.
My only niggle is that there is no footswitch to bypass it, so it is a bit tricky to use it on a pedal board with other preamps. But it is so flexible I don't have much need for that at the moment. Perfect studio tool.
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S
Studio preamp revelation
It sounds so good, it's so intuitive and, given the time, it's really not difficult to work with. It's smaller than it looks, so the knobs feel quite crowded, but I can let that fly, because of the sound. Love it.
1
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R
All In One Solution
Bought this to minimise having to get the laptop and interface out for practice. It did exactly that. I enjoyed using it for about a year before I sold it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, I just couldn't get exactly the sound I wanted from it. Excellent practice tool and it may be even more for you.
The aux in and headphone out are very high quality. I enjoyed this feature a lot and wish it was so well implemented in other devices aimed at similar uses.
The aux in and headphone out are very high quality. I enjoyed this feature a lot and wish it was so well implemented in other devices aimed at similar uses.
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I
Great product
I really like it's sounds and features. The way it's built is also very nice.
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